50716 research outputs found
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Life in the Fast Lane:Performance Predictions for the Newest 50-m Events on the Olympic Games Swimming Schedule
No full textPurpose: We aimed to (1) generate performance predictions for the new 50-m backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly events, recently added to the Olympic Games swimming schedule, for both the Singapore 2025 World Aquatics Championships and the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games and (2) evaluate the accuracy of this already-established predictive model for these new events, using performances at the Singapore 2025 World Aquatics Championships as the criterion. Methods: Race data from the 2011 to 2025 World Aquatics Championships were extracted and categorized into 3 performance categories: medalists (rank first to third), finalists but not medalists (rank fourth to eighth), and semifinalists but not finalists (rank ninth to 16th). An exponential-smoothing forecasting method in Microsoft Excel was used to predict future performances. Model accuracy was assessed by comparing predicted versus actual results from the Singapore 2025 World Aquatics Championships, using mean absolute error (MAE). Results: The model demonstrated high predictive accuracy, with an overall average MAE of 0.94% (±0.58%). The lowest error was observed in the women’s 50-m butterfly (rank first to third, MAE = 0.04%), with the highest error observed in the men’s 50-m butterfly (rank first to third, MAE = 2.02%). Discussion: These results confirm the utility of predictive analytics in elite swimming, supporting evidence-based decision making for coaches and national swimming federations. The model’s high accuracy across the new 50-m form stroke events reinforces its value as a planning tool through the Los Angeles Olympic cycle.</p
Reducing use of desflurane in the anaesthetic department:A controlled interrupted time series analysis
No full textDesflurane is a potent and expensive greenhouse gas. Reducing its use is a global priority. This anaesthetist-led quality improvement project involved educational, motivational and system-change initiatives implemented in the anaesthesia department of Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital (BLH) (September 2021–March 2024), with the aim of reducing desflurane consumption. A quasi-experimental interrupted time series design with control site was employed to estimate changes in usage, greenhouse gas emissions and financial cost of anaesthetic agents per 100 surgeries. Prior to intervention, use of desflurane at BLH was stable. During and after intervention, a significant downward trend in desflurane use was observed, reducing by an average of 0.1 units (1 unit = 1 bottle) per month per 100 surgeries from September 2021 onwards (95% confidence interval (CI) –0.21 to –0.01, P = 0.035). The intervention, while not directly targeting sevoflurane use, was similarly associated with a downward trend in sevoflurane usage of an average of 0.5 units per month per 100 surgeries from September 2021 onwards (95% CI –189.74 kg to –10.43 kg, P = 0.004). No significant changes in use of desflurane or sevoflurane were observed at the control site, although use of both agents declined slightly over the study period. Estimated CO2 equivalent (CO2e) emissions were reduced by an average of 124.7 kg per month per 100 surgeries from September 2021 onwards (95% CI –223.3 kg to –26.1 kg, P = 0.018). Average monthly cost per 100 surgeries at BLH reduced by AU162.58 to –AU$38.10, P = 0.003). There were no changes in CO2e emissions or costs at the control site. A clinician-led intervention highlights the importance of creating opportunity and motivation for change amongst staff as well as ongoing education, advocacy and engagement with department and executive to achieve positive environmental and financial outcomes.</p
Early informal fraction knowledge matters: a longitudinal investigation between first and second grades
No full textEighty children were studied from the start of first grade (mean age = 6.68, range 6.03–7.48) through to the end of second grade to characterize initial informal fraction knowledge and its relation to later informal fraction knowledge and mathematics achievement. Children’s understanding of informal fractions grew across first and second grade, despite little formal fraction instruction. Children showed relatively higher performance in nonsymbolic fraction items compared with symbolic items. Gains in understanding the concept of ‘half’ characterized first grade, with higher gains in understanding “thirds” and “fourths” in second grade. There were large individual differences at all timepoints in informal fraction knowledge. Variation in informal fraction knowledge at the start of first grade predicted later mathematics achievement at the end of second grade, even when including number sense in the model. These findings suggest that early informal fraction knowledge is a foundational number skill, whose growth is intertwined with growth in facility with integers
Tri-SEM:A shape-aware robust regression method via chain-like segmentation and residual analysis
No full textOutliers pose a significant threat to the reliability of regression analysis. Unlike traditional robust methods that primarily rely on numerical optimization, this paper introduces Tri-SEM, a shape-aware robust regression framework that leverages the geometric and morphological structure of data through a flexible three-stage architecture: Split, Extraction, and Merge. In the Split stage, data are partitioned into chain-like segments using the Anderson-Darling test, projection analysis, and convex hull detection to isolate potential outliers, with clustering performed in a 2-D projected space for computational efficiency. In the Extraction stage, a subset of clean segments is selected by jointly considering their size and median squared residuals. In the Merge stage, reliable inliers are integrated using a histogram transition detector on 1-D residuals, capturing residual distribution patterns to construct the final regression estimate. Comprehensive experiments on diverse datasets demonstrate Tri-SEM's clear superiority in both prediction accuracy and estimation bias: it achieved the best overall rank and the highest prediction accuracy on 30 of the 35 datasets, while consistently outperforming the second-ranked method (MM-estimator) in estimation bias, achieving a relative improvement exceeding 90% on more than half (54.3%) of the datasets. Extensive ablation, sensitivity, convergence, and runtime analyses confirm the method's robustness, efficiency, and adaptability across a wide range of data scenarios.</p
Understanding the quality of green banking reporting and factors influencing the quality of green banking reporting: The case of the banking industry
No full textIt takes two to tango: Couples-based preconception lifestyle intervention to reduce multigenerational metabolic syndrome
No full textAustralian sport policy and advocacy: an historical account of policy evolution, government involvement, and the advent of lobbying
Full text linkVarious factors have influenced the evolution of Australian sport policy, including war and the importance of national health. Historically, the involvement of the Australian federal government was sporadic, and policy decisions were subject to prevailing political agendas. Within that context, moves toward consistent sport policy were influenced by the initially indirect and, more latterly, direct influence of lobbying. This paper explores the processes that shaped Australian sport policy, including the burgeoning role of advocacy. Examining sport as government policy, the paper is organised into four thematic sections, commencing with background on policy, followed by an outline of sport policy post-federation leading up to the early 1970s, then a review of developments post-1970, and concluding with an outline of the development of lobbying. Methodologically, literature, including journal articles, books, government documents, Hansard, and “grey” material, formed the basis of a narrative review to illuminate the four themes. The findings point to an evolutionary process that elevated sport to a significant policy consideration, with various elements such as fitness, health, and international sporting success becoming essential to the architects of sport policy. Within that framework, the role of advocacy developed to significant effect but more recently, lobbying in sport policy has become subject to the vicissitudes of political interest and commercial influences, creating a void in the policy process.</p
